


Quiet Nights Under The Stars

by ACuckoo



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 05:17:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6271117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACuckoo/pseuds/ACuckoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something is bothering Donatello, to the point where he decides the best option is to run away. Leonardo intends to find out exactly what it is that's upsetting his brother, but he has no idea that he's the cause of Donatello's suffering.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quiet Nights Under The Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! This is my first TMNT fanfiction. It's super fluffy so prepare yourself. That being said there's no Tcest here, but if you wish to take this story that way (which you most certainly can) then by all means! I'm a Tcest fan myself, but that will saved for another day. This story is here for each and every fan ^_^ Enjoy!
> 
> Also this takes place just a week after the episode "The Fourfold Trap."

The pressure continued to build and build all around him. Every where he turned it seemed like someone was trying to get him to do something. Leo needed him to do this. Raph needed him to do that. Mikey was always in need of something. Even Splinter required he train harder, and for what? Why him and not his other brothers? Leo was the leader. He should have been the one to put in extra training, to learn new and better techniques.

Leo was the leader. He’s the leader. That’s what Donnie had screamed at him just a week before.

“How could he?”

Even his small mutter echoed all around him in the dark alley. He hid in the shadows as people walked by, glaring at them as if they were his older brother. “How could he say that to me?” He whispered again, backing up farther into the alleyway. Eventually he climbed onto a roof and lay flat on his back, staring at the starless sky. New York skies were always starless. The lights from the city illuminated the dark sky, turning it bright and hiding every single star that might have been there. The countryside had been different. Donatello could sit outside and stare at those bright, twinkling lights for hours.

Leo had joined him a few times. Together they would sit outside, lay on the grass, and stare at the beautiful sky above them. They reflected on the destruction of New York. They talked about how much they missed Splinter. Donatello would open up to Leo about April and Leo would say a few things here and there about Karai. They talked about their fears of the future, their hopes for the future, their whispered prayers at night when they were alone. The two of them had never been so personal with each other and after they made it back to New York City they remained that close with one another.

Until Leo had the audacity…

“I don’t understand.”

What happened to how much they bonded under the stars? What happened to how much they trusted each other?

Where did those quiet moments under the stars go?

“You’re crying.”

Those two words were the smallest and quietest of explosions. Donnie jolted upright and turned to see Leonardo staring down at him, his dark blue eyes wide and confused. Donnie’s own eyes narrowed, though they hardly looked intimidating behind the wetness.

“Where did you come from?”

Leo didn’t answer as he sat down crossed leg beside Donnie. The other tried to leave, but Leo grabbed his arm to keep him there. For a while they were silent, Donnie doing his best to glare at his brother and Leo trying to find whatever it was Donnie was hiding.

Finally Leo asked the question he should have asked at least a week ago. “What’s wrong, Donnie?”

The other just scoffed and turned away from Leo, wiping his eyes with his arm. “Nothing.”

“Seriously? Come on, Donnie, I’m not stupid.”

“Everyone is stupid.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s true.”

Leo stared at his brother. He knew this had nothing to do with how smart Donnie was compared to everyone else. Something had been bothering him for at least a week now and Leo felt a responsibility as not only a leader, but an older brother to find out what was wrong. None of the four brothers opened up easily, but Donnie had always been an open book. It was obvious when he was upset, scared, angry, or sad, but that didn’t always mean Leo and the others would know the cause. This was another one of those times. For a week he had been particularly sarcastic, mean, dismissive, holed up in his lab doing whatever it was he did.

“Donnie?”

“Leo, just go.” The angry expression on Donnie’s face softened. His eyes drooped, his mouth couldn’t form a smile even if it tried, and his head was so heavy he could hardly lift it. Eventually he closed his eyes entirely, fell onto his back, and threw his arm over his eyes. “Just go. I’ll be home soon. Just go.”

Leo held back his own tears at hearing Donnie’s voice crack. He knew he should leave. He knew it would be better to leave Donatello alone, to allow him the chance to calm down and open up when he felt like it, and only then. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t bring his legs to move. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from his crying brother. He couldn’t stop the guilt that rose in him, knowing somehow that he was the one to cause this.

Part of him wanted to shake Donnie until he finally revealed what was wrong, and the other part of him wanted to hug him and not let go until the other finally spoke. He opted for the latter.

Without another word, he lay on the cold, hard rooftop and pulled Donatello into his arms. The other didn’t protest or fight. He only cried harder, gripping tightly to Leonardo’s shoulders and hiding his face in the older one’s soft neck. Leo could feel the warm tears on his skin, and he could feel the bruise that would form once Donnie let his shoulders go. The pain didn’t matter. It was minimal and he would allow Donnie to do whatever he needed with him if only it would get him to stop crying.

“How could you? How could you say that to me, Leo? Why would you?”

The grip on Leonardo’s shoulders grew stronger, but Leo didn’t flinch. He held his brother close to him, closing his eyes to keep the tears from falling as he allowed the other to yell at him, curse him, call him names, whatever he wanted to do.

“To say that to me, Leo,” he took a deep, shuddering breath, though it didn’t stop his voice from cracking. “You really don’t care at all what I do for the team, do you? I was the one who made the smoke bombs! I fixed the Shellraiser! I made the T-Phones! I made the go carts! I made Metalhead, who saved our lives by the way! I’m always the one to find cures for us when something ridiculous happens, like that stupid wasp. I made the retromutagen! And you say to me,” he shook his head, burying it as deeply as he could in Leo’s neck, muffling himself even more. “You say to me ‘try harder.’ You actually said that to me. I’m the only one who can possibly make a cure for Karai and you say to me….” He trailed off, unable to speak the words again.

Leo had forgotten all about that. His eyes grew wide as he stared into the memory of that day, the day he yelled at his brother to work harder to find a cure for Karai, the day he and the rest of the team had been kidnapped and nearly killed. He had forgotten, but now it was as clear as crystals in his mind. He could see it all play out from the moment he woke up to the moment he yelled so harshly at his brother.

It didn’t occur to him that Donatello’s feelings were hurt… More than hurt. He was devastated. The proof was right here with his brother’s tears trailing down his neck to his chest and the words that were just screamed at him. Donnie was right though. How could he say that to him? And what the hell would any apology do?

“We’re all important members of this team,” he started.

“Leo, I don’t want to hear—“

“But you’re the most important.”

Leonardo could feel his brother tense in his grasp. He waited for him to relax again, but he didn’t. He also didn’t say anything. Leo took the risk and continued speaking, hoping his brother would believe what he told him.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that to you. Out of all of us you’re the only one who can fix Karai. Honestly, you were the one who got us out of so many of the situations we were in. You know how to utilize Kraang technology. Well, you know how to use technology to your advantage period. You did save us from the wasp. And you saved us from The Creep when he returned. All of your inventions have helped us out in one way or another. As the leader, I often…” he drifted off, squeezing Donatello tighter as his mind wandered to it’s darkest areas. “I often think about losing you guys.”

“Leo…”

“And I find myself thinking that if it weren’t something you invented, a cure, or a piece of technology, or even just those smoke bombs, that we would be dead. You guys would be dead. And every single night I go to bed and thank Raph for being so strong. I thank Mikey for being so positive. And I thank you giving us the tools we need to fight and survive.”

The muscles in Donnie’s body relaxed, and he allowed Leo to pull him as close to him as he could. They stayed that way for a while, silent, their breathing falling in sync with one another, their arms holding one another as if they were the last people on earth. Time passed and not a word was uttered, not a thought was spoken aloud, time was frozen in place and had no intention of moving.

Then finally Donnie’s voice crept into the silence. “You should tell us that more.”

“I know.”

Donnie removed his head from Leo’s neck and gave a small smile. “Say you’re sorry.”

A quick laugh escaped Leo as he pushed their foreheads together. He nodded, stared his brother in his eyes, and said, “I’m sorry, Donnie. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean it, and I’ll never say something like that again.”

The rest of the night was filled with shared secrets, personal opinions and ideas, thoughts, and eventually silence, just like those quiet moments under the stars. 


End file.
